'Gears of War 4' Lancer

By John Jacques 08 March 2015

Although the upcoming Gears of War game might change the series’ canon, one of the franchise’s distinguishing features looks to remain unchanged – the lancer, the go-to weapon for the COG. During motion capture sessions, Gears of War developer Jack Felling treated fans to a photo of the motion capture team’s lancer via Twitter. It looks like the classic design will stand the test of time.

Microsoft acquired the Gears of War property in early 2014, and the game has reportedly made big steps since then. If developer Black Tusk is working on motion capture scenes, that means that the story is finished, as cutscenes require detailed scripts, and are expensive to re-do. Feller’s tweet indicated that the photo was captured on the last day of motion capture – if that’s true, fans might see some official Gears of War content later this year.

Last day of the shoot… One of the actors in a mocap suit! #MotionCapture#Props#MarkerBalls@GearsofWarpic.twitter.com/4mCU8VQA3P

— JackFelling (@btjackfelling) March 28, 2015

Astute fans pointed out that the photo lacks the lancer’s iconic chainsaw, leading some to believe that the object on display is actually a Retro Lancer. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if Black Tusk simply didn’t bother to spend the extra time crafting chainsaw ridges for a simple motion-capture prop.

The new Gears of War’s timeline is a mystery, but if the item in the photo is a Retro Lancer, it could mean that the game is based on The Pendulum Wars. While that’s an exciting setting from the original Gears canon, this theory seems like a stretch, as it would remove any chance of including the reptillian locusts in the game.

Fans are hungry for anything Gears of War related; in fact, Black Tusk Studios had to come out and explicitly say it wasn’t working on a remastered collection of the original trilogy. Though little is known about Black Tusk’s first Gears of War title, gamers can only hope that it will live up to expectations. The lancer is the first glimpse into Black Tusk’s take on the Gears of War universe. Hopefully, more information will follow.

What do you think about the lancer, Ranters? Do you think we’ll see a long-awaited Gears of War 4 teaser this year?